What Are Your Views on the Plan to Integrate Traditional Medicine Practice into the Nigerian Medical School Curriculum?

For many years, traditional medicine practitioners have fought for the formal recognition and acceptance of their products just like western medicine. Their medicines and techniques have been relegated to the background as many people rather opt for western medicine and the study of its processes.

This might change soon in Nigeria as the Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu disclosed recently that his ministry was in the process of integrating traditional medicine practice into the medical school curriculum.

He promised a level playing field to all stakeholders in the health sector and hinged the veiled official recognition of herbal medicine on the need for practitioners to go to medical school to equip themselves with the requisite expert knowledge.

He also said their drugs should be registered with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and packaged for export to earn money for the country.

This news has been received with mixed reactions from Nigerians. While many agree that traditional medicine plays a significant role in the health sector, providing natural remedies for a wide range of illnesses; integrating it into the medical school curriculum they say, shouldn’t be made compulsory. On the other hand, some people laud the plan.

A few weeks ago, a Professor at the University of Benin brewed quite a storm when he announced that he had found the cure to HIV/AIDS in traditional medicine. He later recanted his claim after it was met with widespread criticism over the manner in which he made the announcement and the fact that the necessary tests by approved agencies had not been carried out on the drug.

However, in some instances, traditional medicine has been found to be more effective where western medicine has failed.

What are your views on the plan for the integration of traditional medicine practice into the medical school curriculum? Do you think this would be good for the future of health care in Nigeria?

About Adeola Adeyemo

Adeola Adeyemo is a graduate of Industrial Relations and Personnel Management from University of Lagos. However, her passion is writing and she worked as a reporter with NEXT Newspaper. She believes that anything can be written about; anything can be a story depending on the angle it is seen from and the writer's imagination. When she is not writing news or feature articles, she slips into her fantasies and creates interesting fiction pieces. She blogs at www.deolascope.blogspot.com

I’m all for it. God has blessed our land with medicinal herbs and spices so it’s high time we harnessed them. Plus a lot of medicine we take today are ‘herb inspired’ . Aspirin
contains the synthetic version of quinine ( derived from the bark of the cinchona tree). Lauric acid that you find in drugs for herpes ,candida and HIV comes from coconut, palm and palm kernel oil.

I think it is a brilliant idea. There are natural remedies for many problems that exist, some that are even more potent and beneficial than the pharmaceuticals that exist today. I think both types of medicine can coexist and even be integrated in prescriptions for various illnesses and I think it is good knowledge for upcoming healthcare physicians to have – and a better way for patients to explore their options.

it wont be a bad idea western medicine have alot of side effects instead of healing you sometimes it will add more problems to one’s health and then you get addicted to it and have to rely on the medicine for the rest of one’s life.

I totally agree with the idea because it great. I remember when i had issues wit my hormones, i was nt ovulating n ma period neva came n wen it did, it was so scanty. Saw a gnac doc was pumped wit hormonal injectns bt ma period was stil scanty. Next tyme i had sex wit ma bf, i got pregnant öne hand. I had 2 go thru d trado med way to help myself. Nw i ovulate properly and my flow is back tö normal.